This invention relates to motor driven hedge trimmers and, more particularly, to a safety arrangement for such a device.
In recent years, the public has become more safety conscious with regard to motor driven tools, especially those having exposed cutting edges. One such tool is a hedge trimmer which has an exposed cutting blade extending twelve inches or more out of the tool housing. Such a tool typically includes a housing containing a motor, a cutting blade coupled to the motor and extending forwardly out of the housing, a main handle extending rearwardly from the housing, a main power switch having an actuator in close proximity to or on the main handle, and an auxiliary bail-type handle mounted on the housing between the main handle and the blade.
For proper safe operation of the hedge trimmer, the operator should have one hand holding the main handle and the other hand holding the auxiliary handle whenever the motor is energized. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an arrangement in a hedge trimmer to insure that both of the operator's hands are properly positioned during operation of the tool.
A "deadman switch" arrangement associated with the auxiliary handle will accomplish the foregoing objective. Such an arrangement includes a normally open secondary switch in series with the main power switch which is arranged so that it is closed only when the auxiliary handle is properly gripped by the operator. It is therefore a more specific object of the present invention to provide such a deadman switch arrangement in a hedge trimmer.